


X

by tcourtois



Series: Fork in the road [9]
Category: Football RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-22 09:07:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3723217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tcourtois/pseuds/tcourtois





	X

I.

Ava

“I can’t believe that we’re going home today. Everything is going to change as soon as we’re popped out of this happy little holiday bubble. I’ll have to actually face Mats at some point probably, and not just through my lawyer.” I sighed, standing over my suitcase as I folded some of my clothes, packing them tightly into my suitcase.

“Yep, we’re going home to rain and regret.” Emma, who had already finished packing, was sat on top of her case trying to get it to close so that she could zip it up.

“You’re going home with Marcel though.”

“If this was more than just a holiday romance. I don’t know yet. I still have my own problems to go home to. I don’t know Ava. This all feels like a fantasy of something that we can’t have.” She looked down solemnly.

“We?”

She gave me a look. A look that spoke volumes and more words than she could speak in the second it took her to deliver it.

“Oh.”

“Everything that was written, it’s true isn’t it?” she hopped off of the case and came straight over to me, pulling me into her arms. We didn’t hug that often, usually respecting the other’s space.

“Yes, he confessed last night. I-”

I couldn’t continue. Not just because I was still confused as to what Marco wanted from me, because he didn’t push for anything. Also, because Emma cut me off.

“I knew it! Marcel asked me way too many questions about whether you liked Marco or not. It was too obvious why he was doing it.”

She released me from her grasp then and I let out a sigh.

“I don’t even know the answer to that myself.”

“It’s too soon for that, I know that and so do they. Marco isn’t going to push you.”

I knew that. I knew from the way he had been with me last night that he would never try to force me to be with him. He had almost apologised for feeling the way that he did.

Both our heads jolted up as soon as we heard the knock at the door.

“Damn it.” I mumbled, quickly throwing the rest of my clothes on top of the folded ones and shutting the case. Emma struggled with the zip of hers for a moment, huffing and puffing until she got it.

And then I walked to the door and opened it, letting first Marco, then Marcel and finally Robin into the room.

“Are you ready to go?” Marcel asked. He avoided looking at Marco and me for that matter and looked directly at Emma when he spoke.

“Not really.” She responded. “We all know how shit it is going to be when were all back in Dortmund.”

He shrugged. “Prepare for hell.”

~

Mats

I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I had signed Ava’s divorce papers and her lawyer had collected them from me.

I hadn’t consulted anyone about that, hadn’t taken any advice. I just gave in.

Ava hadn’t even asked for anything. She didn’t want to house unsurprisingly because it was where she had walked in on me with Cathy. She didn’t want the car that I bought for her, but she hadn’t wanted that when I first got it. She had already taken everything that belonged to her with her.

I didn’t know what I was doing when I went to Cathy’s. As I stood outside I wondered if I should really be there, but all I had to keep her quiet with, was myself.

“You finally came to your senses then?” she drawled, leaning against the doorway.

I took a deep breath, before nodding.

For the past few days I had weighed up my options, and the only one I had led me here.

I had this stupid niggling thought in the back of my head that told me that this would be like a cycle. I had started with Cathy then gone to Ava. I hoped that maybe going back to Cathy, would cause the cycle to start again, and would lead me back to Ava.

Maybe seeing me with Cathy again would bring the memories of how we had fallen for each other. I knew that being Cathy’s boyfriend again would bring those things back for me.

I just had to ignore what may or may not be going on between Ava and Marco, pretend to be happy with Cathy, and win her back. Slowly.

~

7 years earlier

“We can’t do this, her friends are literally everywhere. They’re like flies.”

I backed her against the wall of the changing room, and held her there.

She smiled at me and my heart dropped at least four feet to my toes. She had a way of alluding me, but I had her now.

She avoided me just enough to make me find her intriguing. When I saw her sat on a bench watching me train the first time, I had hope that maybe she liked me back.

Then she kept coming, every day. Sometimes she would just sit and watch, sometimes she would sit with a notebook in her lap and textbooks all around her, but she was always there.

Cathy never watched me train and she barely turned up to any of my matches, unless they were under 21 games for Germany, because that’s when the eyes of the country were on me.

I told her that I wanted to move when I finished school, but I didn’t know where yet.

“Who is going to see?” I teased, running my fingers through her hair to where it ended just below her elbow.

“We graduate in 3 months…”

I pressed my lips to her jaw, and then brought them down to against her neck, threading my fingers through hers and holding her hand against the wall.

“All I’m hearing is why not.”

She pursed her lips, and I pulled back from her neck to look at her, cradling her cheek with my hand.

“I’m going to University in Dortmund, and you’re staying at Bayern.”

I smiled at that. She was smart and she was ambitious. I knew that she would be going to University, I just didn’t know where and to do what.

Knowing that she was moving did not deter me, and as I leant in to kiss her for the first time, I mumbled “I’d follow you anywhere.”

~

“Dortmund?! Are you fucking insane? You play for Bayern, you’re going to play for Bayern for a long time and you’re going to be a legend for club and country, why on earth would you throw that away and sign for Borussia?”

Cathy pretended not to know much about football, but she knew about what goes on behind the scenes and she knew that my best chance of having a successful career was probably to stay at the biggest club in the country. But I didn’t care. There was every chance that I wouldn’t make it to their first team, and that I would be loaned out to a smaller team any way or I would rot on their bench.

“Because I want to play. I don’t just want to collect my money every week and sit on the bench without earning it. I want to prove that I’m good enough to play for my country, I want to win a world cup. You don’t understand Cathy.” I groaned.

“I’m not going. You have to choose between me and Borussia.” She stood her ground, sighing deeply, her arms crossed over her chest. I could imagine smoke coming out of her ears. She was fuming, but probably not as much so as my mother.

“Good. I choose Borussia.”

 

II.

Ava

“We need new friends. It’s a bit sad that two old married women are in this club with all of these young men and my god would you look at what that girl is wearing.”

Emma had indeed hit the vodka before coming out, and she had hit it hard, with good reason.

I didn’t know how many times I would have to tell her to leave her scumbag of a husband before she would actually do it. I couldn’t stand cheaters, even though technically the first time I had been with Mats had been while he was still technically with Cathy, although at the time she was throwing a fit over his future and not being very supportive at all.

“Hey- I am not old!” I sucked on my straw, drawing the last of my drink through it.

“Well, we’re older than them.”

I looked over at the group of girls she had pointed out. They barely looked old enough to be in a club, although their fresh faces were painted with a beige glow. I saw the one she meant, she stuck out even amongst her friends. She had platinum blonde hair, and icy blue eyes like glass. What she was wearing would have looked ridiculous on anyone else, I was certain but on her it actually worked.

“You’re right, it’s winter. She should have brought a coat. She’s beautiful though.”

I sneaked a little look over my shoulder at her. She was the type of girl that I hated growing up because I was envious of them. They seemed to have beauty down so easily that it looked effortless, she probably woke up that radiant this morning while I had to have an hour long bath and strict moisturising regime to achieve a glow.

“I hate blondes.” Emma downed the rest of her drink.

“They’re being ignored. How is Marco ignoring her?” I laughed as I saw the blonde move over to his table where he sat with his friends. I’d met them once or twice. It was fascinating to see their interaction.

“I’m going to get another drink, do you want one?” Emma hopped off her stool without even faltering on her heels, how she managed to wear them and never fall over in any state was a mystery to me.

I nodded, passing her my glass.

“Could you ask them for ice this time?”

I watched Emma go for only a second before my eyes were led back to the scene at Marco’s table. The blonde had draped her leg over the edge of the sofa next to Marco and was perched on the arm.

She put her hand on his shoulder only to have it pushed off by him moments later.

That did not deter her though, and she stayed perched on the end of the sofa, doing what looked like butting in on Marco’s conversation with his friends at every opportunity.

I rolled my eyes.

“Look at that poor girl, she’s like a limpet.” Emma laughed as she re-joined me, putting my glass down in front of me.

“I’m not rooting for her. She looks as slimey as a limpet. I’d rather Marco found someone nice and kind to settle down with. You know what I mean, girl-next-door, not like other girls, understands his interests and supports him.” I took a sip, tearing my eyes away from his table for a moment.

Emma erupted into a chorus of giggles, covering her mouth with her hand.

“I swear you just described yourself.”

I rolled my eyes again, once recovered from nearly choking on my drink.

“You know what I mean though.”

“Mhm-”

“He needs someone like-” I looked around the club, my eyes darting from person to person. I skipped the rest of the blonde’s group because let’s face it, the bad egg probably comes from an equally bad basket of eggs. Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted a girl who sat in a corner booth seemingly alone. Her phone seemed glued to her palm and her hair covered some of her face. “Her!” I pointed.

“Who?” Emma looked around, at girl wearing very short dress, to girl wearing very short dress.

“The one in the corner, idiot.”

“Oh, she doesn’t look too happy to be here.”

“I think she’s just shy, stay here.” I stood, taking my drink with me because I would feel awkward not having anything in my hand, and I needed it for courage because I’m still not good at talking to people that I don’t already know and have a rapport with. “You said that we needed new friends…”

“I didn’t mean that you should talk to strangers and try to hook them up with your husband’s team mate.”

“I’m sure Marco will be very grateful when I find him a nice girl to spend time with. Imagine Limpet’s face.” I pointed discreetly at the blonde.

Marco looked frustrated, and much like he wanted to be anywhere other than where he was.

“Go on then. I will tell Mats that I tried to stop you from humiliating poor Marco though. As soon as he is back from Paris…” she laughed.

As I approached the girl I was sure that she glanced up at me. Once or twice I saw her flinch, as if she was unsure if I was heading straight towards her or not.

I stopped in front of her table, and cleared my throat.

“Uhm Hi, I’m-”

“You’re Mats Hummels’ wife. W-Why are you talking to me?” she put her phone down, pressing down on the button on top to lock the screen before I caught a glimpse of what she had been tapping into it. 

“You’re all by yourself, and you looked lonely.” I looked at the seat beside her in the booth and wondered if I should just sit down or if I would be imposing myself on her.

This had probably been a terrible idea, but I had already started and it would seem weird if I just said goodbye and walked away now.

“Oh, well I was just…” she looked between me and her phone before breaking out into a blush. “Nevermind, I’m Nix.” She held her hand out towards me, not something that anyone had done for a while, we looked at each other realising how ridiculous we must seem shaking hands in a club and laughed. I shook her hand any way.

“Ava?” The voice came from behind me, and I recognised it straight away.

I turned to look back at Marco.

“Good evening.”

“What are you doing here? You never come.” He laughed, then snuck a look over my shoulder at the person I was talking to. “And hey, you’re not Mats.”

I scrambled to answer his questions, and to engage him in a conversation that would make him stay. But I guessed that when he had noticed that I was here he had used catching up as an excuse to get away from blondie.

“Mats is in Paris. This is Nix.”

Looking back at her I realised that she was probably really embarrassed. He wasn’t the sort of person that you just casually met every day.

“Hi.” I stepped aside as she greeted him so that they could actually see each other, and snuck a look back at Marco’s table, where Marcel looked about ready to draw the party to a close if he had to spend another moment listening to whatever the girl had to say.

“I should really get back to Emma. It was nice meeting you Nix, and Marco it was nice to see you again.” I smiled at them both.

“And you, Ava.”


End file.
